The Vangaurd
by Brony114
Summary: Ponydom is thrown into chaos as Princess Celestia is kidnapped and an evil artifact is stolen from the Canterlot vaults. Maverick vanguard, a member of a mercenary group called " The Guild", is forced with the task to rescue the princess from the clutches of his own mentor. His struggles will lead him to give up his life as a mercenary and eventually discover his dark lineage.
1. Chapter 1

The Vanguard  
Chapter 1  
By brony114

It was around 11:00 pm in a rocky valley somewhere south of Equestria. The weather was cold and dreary. All should have been quiet for the ponies that lived in an old fort located on top of a mountain. However, some ponies had an agenda to pursue.

"What are you waiting for? Kill Him!" said one older brown unicorn with a demanding tone.

"Get around him! Get around him!" said another unicorn down inside the garden where a battle for survival was taking place.

"Swallow's dead!" proclaimed a pegasus holding his dead friend.  
The clanking of swords, the whistling of arrows , the thunderous crashing of magic based attacks, grunting, groaning and the occasional whale of a dying stallion could be heard as Maverick, a grey pegasus pony with green eyes and a dark green main, fought his way through former allies and friends.  
"We're cornering him," said one tan earth pony that was heavily armored and high in rank.  
The group of hostile ponies was trying to corner Maverick with little success. His movements were always one step ahead. He even knew how to counter unicorns and their magic.

"I see him, I see him…" said a Pegasus as he was closing in on his target from above. Suddenly there was a loud pop and a whoosh as a fire ball shot out from behind some ruble.

" ..AArrgghh!" said the pegasus as he went down.

"Help me! Help me! It burns!" screamed a unicorn as he was caught on fire.

"Basel's down …" Said another pegasus. Poor Basel had taken a knife to the throat.

"Damn it, where did he GO?" screamed the earth pony  
Maverick retreated to a building that was half blown up by unicorn magic. Despite his proficiency in engaging multiple enemies, he'd sustained many wounds. His black, blood soaked, hooded cloak was ripped to shreds and his armor battered and loose. Most of his dragons breathe fire pipes (weapons that use black powder to shoot and ignite a napalm like substance called Greek fire, 20 feet out,) were used up along with all of his throwing knives. All he had left were his sword, one pipe, his will to keep fighting and maybe a few more pints of blood. Indeed he took a few hits.  
The others went into a frenzy trying to find Maverick. One black and silver pegasus landed in the middle of the court yard containing trees, shrubs, stone benches and stone columns. He looked around the once beautiful and serene garden, surveying the damage caused by his fellow ponies. His name is Brutis. His gaze fell upon many probable hiding spots but never too long to suggest what he was thinking. His years of experience and training taught him to never let the enemy know what he suspects. Then he said,  
"Maverick, you know you can't hide forever! Your precious princess won't last very long if you don't come out and fight us!" He then shot a glance at Princess Celestia.

Princess Celestia was chained to a stone wall with a spell cast on her to cut her off from her magic. She was exhausted from the draining of her power. Unfortunately Maverick was alone in saving the princess. He didn't know why but, his own Guild had kidnapped her. Worst yet, He had helped in the kidnapping.  
Earlier that night, Maverick was included in a mission that was supposed to be about capturing stolen magical artifacts from a train leaving to Canterlot. His job was to clear the train of opposition, get to the last car, and undo the car from the train. During the mission he fought royal guards. Of course he thought it was strange for them to be present but he continued to complete his mission. Once he unhooked the car, he looked up and through the window he caught a glance of the princess looking back at him. Soon after, the rest of the team surrounded the car and it vanished into the night. He found one of the guards he had thrown off the train, still laying on the ground waiting for help. Maverick questioned him about what artifacts were on the train. His only reply was that the guild would never get away with kidnapping the Princess. The more Maverick questioned the royal guard, the more apparent it became that he had helped in kidnapping the most important alicorn in all of Ponydom. Maverick went back to The Guild's headquarters with many questions, and a hard decision to make..  
Maverick was hurting from the wounds but his heart was hurting even more. He wanted answers; instead he got lies, the cold shoulder, and even the sword. He was now fighting against his own brothers trying to save a princess who had done nothing for him in the past, even when he was a citizen of Equestria and his parents were murdered. It seemed that every pony was turning a blind eye to his suffering.  
Maverick knew though, there would be more suffering in the world if he failed to undo the evil that was taking place at his door step. Ponydum would end as he knew it. The world was on his shoulders. Only with a heavy heart did he continue to cut away at his comrades.

"Captain, I see movement," cried one eager pegasus

"Surround him and don't move in yet," ordered Brutis

Maverick thought to himself, "Shit they're organized!"

Two pegasi, one earth pony, and Brutis all made a perimeter around the half collapsed building.

"Come out, come out Maverick! It's almost twelve!" said Brutis

"Rest time is over trader! You're going to die now!" said the last earth pony.

Maverick realized Brutis mentioned the time. It seemed weird that Celestia was still alive. If it had been a normal attempt at a coup d'etat, she would have been killed already. The relevance of time meant they were waiting, but for what? He didn't have time to think about it though.  
Maverick looked around and saw how he was surrounded and that distance they were keeping would give them time to act if he charged out.

"So that's how it's going to be huh." Maverick thought to himself. He then pulled his last dragons breath out and turned it towards the other side of the building, he then set it off. Sparks and flames shot out at the wall and covered it in flames. The building began to burn down. Maverick was losing air quickly, and the smoke was thickening.

Soon one of the walls collapsed, maverick knew it was time to act. He flew up out of the roof through the smoke as his head was pounding and his chest felt like it was going to burst. He followed it up as far as he could take it and then flew out sideways. He could see the other ponies close to the building trying to see if he was still inside.

Maverick took a dive and attacked a Pegasus in the air. He quickly stripped him of his throwing knives and two pipes, and then slashed his wings. Then he kicked him with his rear legs so he could plummet to the ground. An arrow flew past Maverick and he spiraled to the ground where he swooped in for a landing. As soon as he was on the ground he picked a knife, and then a target. The last Pegasus took it to the face and with a shriek he collapsed holding his bow and an arrow.

Brutis flew at Maverick with his sword and slashed vigorously at him. Maverick took a slash to his left wing and a slash to his torso. His armor blunted the attack to his chest but his wing was badly cut. Maverick managed to take his sword out after dropping all his knives and blocked Brutises attacks. Then Last earth Pony was about to join in the fight but the building collapsed on him while he ran alongside it. Brutis was still savagely striking at Maverick. The clanking seemed to go on forever because neither Pegasus could get a hit in. Maverick was weak from blood loss but he still held his own. Brutis took a few hits, and then maverick took a few. Final Maverick stabbed Brutis in the neck and down he went. Brutis was an officer in the Guild for over a decade. Maverick even served under him a few times. Now Brutis was dead still gurgling on his own blood. Maverick turned to face his worst enemy.

General Demos was Mavericks first mentor when he first joined the Guild as a colt. He promised to help find the Pony who murdered Maverick's parents. He was the one who taught Maverick to fly, fight, move in urban areas stealthily, and even how to get information from others when they were not loose muzzled. He was like a second father to him.

Maverick picked up the knives he had dropped and the pipes. He secured them on his belt and began to move towards the General, the brown unicorn.  
Demos had a look of determination about him as he trotted down the steps into the courtyard. His star was cold and unforgiving. His sword was still sheathed.  
Suddenly Maverick picked up in the air about a few inches off the ground. His body was stretched spread eagle and he groaned with pain. Princess Celestia could see him struggling and knew what was happening to him.  
Maverick: "Aarrggh! What's going on?"  
Demos trotted up to maverick and pulled his sword out. Maverick managed to give him a look of furry.

Demos: "Any last words before I put an end to your miserable life?"

Maverick: "Why are you doing this, and what do you plan on doing to the Princess!"

Demos: "My dear colt, if you only understood the schemes I've planned. Did you know  
Your parent's death wasn't a random act of violence!"

Maverick: "What about my parents?"

Demos: "Their death was necessary to give you the motivation to commit to our Guild. It was a planned assassination by me to make you into a revenge seeking killer and I gave you all the tool and training you needed."

Maverick: "You peace of shit! I'll kill you!"

Demos: "Don't you even care to know why?"

Maverick: "Why? Why would you go though the trouble of killing my parents tricking me into serving you and include me on a mission like this? Surely you could have had some other pony help in kidnapping the Princess!"

Demos: "You were supposed to be the perfect solder, one who doesn't ask questions about his purpose or the mission! All you were supposed to be concerned with was finding the murderer of your parents and I would keep you searching for the answers by giving you clues."

Maverick: "Well, you misjudged me! I don't chase carrots forever"

Demos: "Yes and now my best company of ponies is now dead. It's only a slight set back however. You are all pawns in my plans. All I wanted from this endeavor was viable obedient solders and immortality along with the throne of Equestria."

Maverick: "Now that you told me you were involved in my their murders,You still haven't told me who killed my parents or even why you kidnapped the Princess!"

Demos: "Oh you're still blabbering on about that? Well you see, it was Brutis who did the deed and it wasn't the first time either!"

Maverick: "I should have known you all would be sick like that! I even felt bad for killing him! "

Demos: "Right… As for why I wanted the princess, let me tell you!"  
Demos pulled a medallion out from his armor. It was a gold disk with a red glowing stone in the middle.

emos: "This is the medallion of King Sombra. It was imbued with immense magical powers. This little trinket will allow me to take on the attribute of any magical pony I want as long as I can get a hold of his or her blood!Of course the ceremony has to be carried out at midnight "

Maverick was still suspended in the air as his blood dripped on the ground. Princess Celestia could see the medallion from where she was. She knew she was in trouble if Demos was allowed to use it.

Demos: "This medallion will not only make it easier to take the thrown of Equestria, but will also allow me to gain her highness's powers of longevity and it made it easier to bind her with those chains!"

Maverick: "Power, Wealth, longevity…are these the only things you care about?"

Demos: " ha ha ha…. Perhaps!"

Maverick: "You won't get away with this! Even if you kill me and the princess, there will be others to fight you!"

Demos: "We'll see about that. I will miss you Maverick, I really will. You are my most gifted pupil."

Maverick knew it was over, his heart would have been racing but all the adrenalin in his body was drained. He was tired and cold. Death didn't seem too bad and now he accepted it, along with his failure. What else could he do, this was check mate.

As Demos was talking to Maverick, Princess Celestia was struggling. Maybe she could muster up enough magic to cast a spell. Demos was taking his time, laughing at Maverick as he dangled in the air. Celestia concentrated as hard as she could. There was no sparks at first, but when Demos called Maverick his most gifted pupil, her thought went to Twilight Sparkle. Every moment of joy she had with her own pupil flashed in her mind. She longed to see her again. She thought to herself,  
"How could any pony use their own student like this?" She was beginning to compare Maverick to Twilight Sparkle. It was almost as if she could see Twilight suspended in the air about to be killed.

Then it happened, her horn began to glow. A sudden flash of magic shot out of her horn and hit Demos in his. The burning pain caused him to drop Maverick and blinded him for a couple of seconds. Celestia could feel the chains loosen and fall.

Maverick hit the ground and his shock turned to reflexes. His hooves took hold of his sword and he charged at demos. Demos pulled his sword out and blocked Mavericks attack and swung his sword over his head. Maverick and General Demos were now fighting on equal terms. Demos couldn't use his magic for some reason, he felt empty and Maverick couldn't fly. The two fought viciously as they battered their swords over and over. Suddenly Demos hit Mavericks sword out of his hooves. IT fell too far away for Maverick to retrieve it. Demos did not hesitate to strike but Maverick managed to dodge it and pulled out a dragons breathe pipe. He set it off and Demos was engulfed in flames. His Shrieking went on for what seemed forever. Soon however, he succumbed to the flames and collapse to the ground dead.

Maverick couldn't believe it. Demos was dead and the princess was safe. Perhaps the world wouldn't end. Celestia trotted over to Maverick who was standing over the medallion that made this horror show possible. Demos ripped it off when he was on fire.

As she came closer to Maverick, she could better see the extent of his injuries. His main was matted and stained in blood, his armor was damaged, his legs were cut up and scorched. His expression was solemn and he looked empty of any joy.

Celestia: "Why, why did you go through so much trouble to save me?"

Maverick: "Princess, I've lived a life of deception. Can you imagine how it would be if every one else was included."

Celestia: "What are you going to do now?"

Maverick: "This thing needs to be destroyed. "

Celestia: "No, don't try; you will only die if you do. Others have tried to destroy it and they were killed."

Maverick: "Princess, if I don't do it, who will? This thing cant be allowed to exist!"

Celestia: "This Medallion can be hidden or even thrown into the sea. Your life is important to me; I will not let you suffer any longer."

Maverick looked her in the eyes. He could feel her sincerity and so he agreed to not destroy the medallion.

Celestia: "Now how do we get out of this place?"

Maverick: "The clouds move on their own here, so their movements are unpredictable. We can hide in one and move it out of this valley. We don't even need to fly up to it. The clouds are low today. We don't have much time so we need to move…"

Maverick was picking up the medallion with his mouth when suddenly there was a bright flash. Before either The princess or Maverick knew it, they were falling. It was cold and still dark but the sun was starting to rise, apparently Princess Luna was taking over her sisters duties in this time of crisis.

Princess Celestia caught maverick who still couldn't fly and tried to fly for both of them. Celestia, however, couldn't carry both of them and her magic was still drained. So much had been drained that she couldn't even teleport both of them to safety.

Maverick: "Princess, you're going to have to let me go, we can't fly like this!"

Celestia: "I can't just leave you out here!"

Celestia look around for landmarks of any kind, maybe she could find out where they were. Soon she figured it out. She could see the Everfree Forest just below them. They must have been five thousand feet above it.

Celestia: "Maverick, it's the forest near Ponyvill! We can try to make it there."

Maverick: "Princess, Please! You have to get back to Canterlot. You are hurt and fatigued. You have to go now…"  
He looked up at the princess who was hugging him from above.

Maverick: "I can make it, I can at least glide."

The princess looked him in the eyes and tears began to flow down her checks. She then said,

"This is the ever free forest, try to land near the outskirts of the forest if you can and make you way to the village near you. You should seek out my student, Twilight Sparkle."

"Yes your highness!"

Celestia then let go, and Maverick was in free fall again. He stretched his wings out as often as he could, but it was painful. He tried to slow his decent down as much as possible and was aiming for a stream that flowed near the edge of the forest. Faintly he could see the town of Ponyvill just north of the Everfree Forest. He could see some light. Soon he straightened out to align with the stream as if it was a run way, and for the last 100 meters he spread his wings and flapped painfully to land in the stream. Unfortunately the section he picked was shallow and rocky. When he splashed into the stream, he hit a few boulders and stopped in the water belly up. His armor protected him somewhat and he managed to not hit his head, but his front right leg hit a boulder which broke it.

"Maverick was alone to writhe in pain and soon he could feel himself passing in and out of consciousness. He thought he was going to die alone in the forest. However, He began to hear some pony talking to another; it was a sweet and quiet voice. The other voice he could hear was a girl's voice, but she sounded more demanding.

"I know I saw a pony land in here just now."

"Come on Fluttershy no one in their right mind is going to fly into this creepy place!"

"I just know he fell in here somewhere, I just got to help him!"

"I'm not going to convince you to go back with me am I?"

"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, I'm not leaving!"

There was a period of silence from the two and then,

Fluttershy: " (GASP!) Look… there in the stream!"  
Shortly after, two pegasi landed next to him and that is when he finally passed out.

The Vangard

Chapter 2 "Little Maverick"

(11 year before the kidnaping of Princess Celestia, in a lumber town on the southern border of Equestria.)

Little maverick, a small, grey Pegasus colt with green eyes and a dark green main, was fast asleep in his bed. He was dreaming of flying with his father over their little town in southern equestrian. He was having the time of his life and he knew that the colts from his town would stop teasing him, now that he had his cutie mark and he learned to fly. He was tucked tight in his bed with his night light still on because the darkness scared him very much.

Suddenly his wonderful dream gave way to screaming and he wasn't sure if he was still dreaming or not. Then he realized that he really was hearing screaming and it came from his mother in his parent's bedroom. As soon as he got up in his bed, his mother stopped screaming and not another sound came from down the hallway. The only thing Maverick could hear was the rain beating on the window outside.

Maverick let out a soft "Mom…Dad…" but there was no response. Clearly something was wrong. Despite his fear, he trotted to his door and pushed it open. The hallway was pretty dark but the storm would illuminate house through the windows with every crash of lightening. Maverick could see that his parent's bedroom door was open. He wanted to see that his parents were alright, he needed to be with them because he was so scared. He called to them again, but still there was no response.

Maverick trotted down the hallway. He moved as fast as he could to get to his parents room because he didn't want to be in the dark. He was half expecting to see them getting up to hug him. His hoof steps were quiet despite his haste.

When Maverick made it to the open door, he poked his head around the frame and peered in. Unfortunately for little Maverick, from that point on, his parents wouldn't be a part of his life ever again. Both his parents lay dead on the floor.

Maverick began to whimper, and then sob. It was pretty obvious they were dead because so much blood was on the ground. They were almost holding each other. Then Maverick noticed a dark figure standing outside the window, there was a maniacal laugh coming from the figure. He was wearing a dark robe with a hood. Maverick backed up from the door in fear. The Figure then left off into the woods.

All Maverick could do was call out to the figure "Hey…Hey…." as loud as he could. The Neighbors heard Maverick crying out the window and came to find him huddled next to his parents. That was the longest night of little Mavericks life.

Investigators from Canterlot had been called in to the small town. They searched the house, the town and the nearby forest for traces of the culprit, but the only signs of the murderer that were left were the two bodies of the late pegasi and their son. They had no leads to go on so the case was considered cold.

The town's ponies held a funeral for the lost pegasi and it would be weeks before Maverick would be forced to go back to school. The Neighbors that had found Maverick had taken him in and started to raise him. Maverick, needless to say, was never the same.

Maverick would walk through the woods every so often by himself. He didn't have friends, just ponies that felt bad for him. One day he was trotting along a stream when he heard some pony call to him. Maverick turned and saw a stallion unicorn standing on a boulder next to the stream. He was wearing a black cloak.

Maverick turned around to face him and demanded "Are you the one who killed Mom and Dad? Tell Me!"

The Stallion replied comely

"Your parents, are they fugitives?"

Maverick's expression changed from fierce anger to surprise. He replied

"Um…no"

The Stallion then smiled and said,

"Then no I haven't"

The Stallion began to trot towards Maverick and sat next to him as he thrust his head back to push his hood off. He was a shining brown Stallion with dark eyes. He was wearing armor that came up to his neck and he had a sword.

He said to Maverick, "My name is Demos, I'm from 'The Guild' and I'm currently investigating a crime. What's your name little stallion?"

Maverick replied, "my name …it's Maverick."

"Well Maverick, you look like a very brave Colt. I'm sorry to hear that your parents were taken away from you. Would you like to talk to me about it? I sense that you want to talk to some pony."

"Well… No one can help me; I want my mom and dad back. I miss them so much. I want to find the Pony who took them away."

"I know little Maverick."

"You can't, can you?"

"I cannot search for you, but I do know that you are very smart and very brave. Do you know what the Guild is?"

Maverick had heard about the Guild. He was told they were a group of bad ponies, but he wasn't told why they were.

Maverick : "I heard bad things about the guild,"

Demos : "I see, but you look like you could use our help to find the one who took your parents away. We could teach you to look for him, chase him down, and even to fight him. We could even teach you to protect ponies you care for."

Maverick was very unsure about what Demos was offering. He had never been given a choice to do what he wanted, yet he had never had some pony offer to help either.

"I don't know, I think it would be wrong for me to go looking for him."

"I know Maverick, and I'll let you think about it. I will be here in the woods for about a week. You can decide later."

Maverick said good bye to the stallion and went home, back to his small town.

Where older ponies had shown pity for little Maverick, the younger colts did not. They continued to tease him about how he will never fly and that his wings would always be useless. The town was only made up of earth ponies.

One day a colt named Bucky, who was bigger than most of the colts and stronger, had been messing with Maverick. He was pushing him around, and making fun of his blank flank. Maverick was of the age to receive his cutie mark, but had not. Bucky had chased Maverick out to the playground and cornered him between closely grouped trees.

"What's wrong blank flank, nowhere to run?"

Bucky then laughed and with his front hoofs pushed Maverick down in the dust.

"Why don't you use your wings and fly away like the chicken you are? OH that's right, you can't! Your useless father never taught you!"

Bucky laughed some more as he beat on maverick with his front hoofs.

"Your father was useless, maybe that's why your mom and dad died."

Suddenly everything got slow like in a dramatic scene in a movie, Bucky's words were unreadable and everything looked red.

Maverick could feel himself turn around and his hind legs flung out and they made contact with Bucky's face.

Bucky maid an "oohf" sound but then went silent as soon as he hit a tree behind him. He hit the tree and then hit the ground.

A couple of the fillies ran off screaming, one of them trotted up to Bucky and proclaimed that he was out and bleeding from the mouth. The rest of the young ponies stared at Maverick in shock. Many of them were horrified and backed away from Maverick. Maverick never felt so alone, so outside the herd.

He ran off into the woods leaving a cloud of dust behind him. He was crying, he ran up to his old house, the one that his parents were murdered in. He sat on the steps and cried for an hour. No one came to get him. He was alone. It was then he decided to go to the woods to find Demos. None of the ponies would ever forgive him for what he did, that is what he thought.

Maverick trotted along the same river he found Demos; he looked and looked but didn't see him. Then Maverick sat down and started to sob again.

"Hello again, " Said Demos after he teleported next to Maverick.

Demos: "Are you ready?"

Maverick wiped his face.

Maverick: "Yes!"

The guild is a group of mercenary ponies including earth, pegasi and unicorn ponies. Some of them former royal guard but most of them are from social degenerate life styles. They take contracts ranging from capturing criminals to VIP Protection and they even aid in rescue and recovery during natural disasters. Despite their willingness to help, they are not sanctioned by equestrian royalty.

As it turned out, Maverick was much more than just brave. He was bold and a quick learner. Working his way through training he studied under different masters. They worked to hone his every ability. He learned to fly, how to handle a sword and use other various weapons and equipment as well as bare hoofed combat. He also learned to use his surroundings to effectively evade and pursue.

His training would prove very useful. When he began taking on real missions, he achieved success easily and was even given command over a squad of five ponies. He would lead them into and out of every mission safely.

Maverick was never just satisfied with his success so he never stopped learning. He even studied magic, just to get an edge on magically talented foes. He pushed to better himself for him and for others.

He made many allies and he also made friends. On one mission he came across an abandoned baby fire dragon, she was red with an orange underbelly. He ended up taking care of her and she began to learn from him everything. He named her Sarah.

He also made friends with another guild solder, a white Pegasus named Lillie. He only out ranked her by one rank. She was the complete opposite of Maverick because she was always easygoing and calm. She could always calm Maverick when he was too intense with his studies and training. They had a close relationship.

Maverick's success would continue for years and the fort where The Guild held its headquarters had become his new home. Demos would receive the rank of General and take the place of the head Guild master.


	2. Chapter 2

The Vanguard  
Chapter 2 "Little Maverick"

(11 years before the kidnapping of Princess Celestia, in a lumber town on the southern border of Equestria.)  
Little maverick, a small, grey Pegasus colt with green eyes and a dark green main, was fast asleep in his bed. He was dreaming of flying with his father over their little town in southern equestrian. He was having the time of his life and he knew that the colts from his town would stop teasing him, now that he had his cutie mark and he learned to fly. He was tucked tight in his bed with his night light still on because the darkness scared him very much.

Suddenly his wonderful dream gave way to screaming and he wasn't sure if he was still dreaming or not. Then he realized that he really was hearing screaming and it came from his mother in his parent's bedroom. As soon as he got up in his bed, his mother stopped screaming and not another sound came from down the hallway. The only thing Maverick could hear was the rain beating on the window outside.

Maverick let out a soft cry, "Mom…Dad…" but there was no response. Clearly something was wrong. Despite his fear, he trotted to his door and pushed it open. The hallway was pretty dark but the storm would illuminate house through the windows with every crash of lightening. Maverick could see that his parent's bedroom door was open. He wanted to see that his parents were alright, he needed to be with them because he was so scared. He called to them again, but still there was no response.

Maverick trotted down the hallway. He moved as fast as he could to get to his parents room because he didn't want to be in the dark. He was half expecting to see them getting up to hug him. His hoof steps were quiet despite his haste.

When Maverick made it to the open door, he poked his head around the frame and peered in. Unfortunately for little Maverick, from that point on, his parents wouldn't be a part of his life ever again. Both his parents lay dead on the floor.

Maverick began to whimper, and then sob. It was pretty obvious they were dead because so much blood was on the ground. They were almost holding each other. Then Maverick noticed a dark figure standing outside the window, there was a maniacal laugh coming from the figure. He was wearing a dark robe with a hood. Maverick backed up from the door in fear. The Figure then left off into the woods.  
All Maverick could do was call out to the figure "Hey…Hey…." as loud as he could. The Neighbors heard Maverick crying out the window and came to find him huddled next to his parents. That was the longest night of little Mavericks life.

Investigators from Canterlot had been called in to the small town. They searched the house, the town and the nearby forest for traces of the culprit, but the only signs of the murderer that were left were the two bodies of the late pegasi and their son. They had no leads to go on so the case was considered cold.

The town's ponies held a funeral for the lost pegasi and it would be weeks before Maverick would be forced to go back to school. The Neighbors that had found Maverick had taken him in and started to raise him. Maverick, needless to say, was never the same.

Maverick would walk through the woods every so often by himself. He didn't have friends, just ponies that felt bad for him. One day he was trotting along a stream when he heard some pony call to him. Maverick turned and saw a stallion unicorn standing on a boulder next to the stream. He was wearing a black cloak.

Maverick turned around to face him and demanded "Are you the one who killed Mom and Dad? Tell Me!"

The Stallion replied comely

"Your parents, were they fugitives?"

Maverick's expression changed from fierce anger to surprise. He replied

"Um…no"

The Stallion then smiled and said,

"Then no I haven't"

The Stallion began to trot towards Maverick and sat next to him as he thrust his head back to push his hood off. He was a shining brown Stallion with dark eyes. He was wearing armor that came up to his neck and he had a sword.

He said to Maverick, "My name is Demos, I'm from 'The Guild' and I'm currently investigating a crime. What's your name little stallion?"

Maverick replied, "my name …it's Maverick."

"Well Maverick, you look like a very brave Colt. I'm sorry to hear that your parents were taken away from you. Would you like to talk to me about it? I sense that you want to talk to some pony."

"Well… No one can help me; I want my mom and dad back. I miss them so much. I want to find the Pony who took them away."

"I know little Maverick."

"You can't, can you?"

"I cannot search for you, but I do know that you are very smart and very brave. Do you know what the Guild is?"

Maverick had heard about the Guild. He was told they were a group of bad ponies, but he wasn't told why they were.

Maverick : "I heard bad things about the guild,"

Demos : "I see, but you look like you could use our help to find the one who took your parents away. We could teach you to look for him, chase him down, and even to fight him. We could even teach you to protect ponies you care for."

Maverick was very unsure about what Demos was offering. He had never been given a choice to do what he wanted, yet he had never had some pony offer to help either.

"I don't know, I think it would be wrong for me to go looking and starting trouble."

"I know Maverick, and I'll let you think about it. I will be here in the woods for about a week. You can decide later."

Maverick said good bye to the stallion and went home, back to his small town.

Where older ponies had shown pity for little Maverick, the younger colts did not. They continued to tease him about how he will never fly and that his wings would always be useless. The town was only made up of earth ponies.

One day a colt named Bucky, who was bigger than most of the colts and stronger, had been messing with Maverick. He was pushing him around, and making fun of his markless flank. Maverick was of the age to receive his cutie mark, but had not. Bucky had chased Maverick out to the playground and cornered him between closely grouped trees.

"What's wrong blank flank, nowhere to run?"

Bucky then laughed and with his front hoofs pushed Maverick down in the dust.

"Why don't you use your wings and fly away like the chicken you are? OH that's right, you can't! Your useless father never taught you!"

Bucky laughed some more as he beat on maverick with his front hoofs.

"Your father was useless, maybe that's why your mom and dad died."

Suddenly everything got slow like in a dramatic scene in a movie, Bucky's words were unreadable and everything looked red.

Maverick could feel himself turn around and his hind legs flung out and they made contact with Bucky's face.

Bucky maid an "oohf" sound but then went silent as soon as he hit a tree behind him. He hit the tree and then hit the ground.

A couple of the fillies ran off screaming, one of them trotted up to Bucky and proclaimed that he was knocked out and bleeding from the mouth. The rest of the young ponies stared at Maverick in shock. Many of them were horrified and backed away from Maverick. Maverick never felt so alone, so outside the herd.

He ran off into the woods leaving a cloud of dust behind him. He was crying, he ran up to his old house, the one that his parents were murdered in. He sat on the steps and cried for an hour. No one came to get him. He was alone. It was then he decided to go to the woods to find Demos. None of the ponies would ever forgive him for what he did, or at least that's what he thought.

Maverick trotted along the same river he found Demos; he looked and looked but didn't see him. Then Maverick sat down and started to sob again.

"Hello again, " Said Demos after he teleported next to Maverick.

Demos: "Are you ready?"

Maverick wiped his face.

Maverick: "Yes!"

The guild is a group of mercenary ponies including earth, pegasi and unicorn ponies. Some of them former royal guard but most of them are from social degenerate life styles. They take contracts ranging from capturing criminals to VIP Protection and they even aid in rescue and recovery during natural disasters. Despite their willingness to help, they are not sanctioned by equestrian royalty.

As it turned out, Maverick was much more than just brave. He was bold and a quick learner. Working his way through training he studied under different masters. They worked to hone his every ability. He learned not just how to fly but how to perform combat maneuver, how to handle a sword and use other various weapons and equipment as well as bare hoofed combat. He also learned to use his surroundings to effectively evade and pursue.

His training would prove very useful. When he began taking on real missions, he achieved success easily and was even given command over a squad of five ponies. He would lead them into and out of every mission safely.

Maverick was never just satisfied with his success so he never stopped learning. He even studied magic, just to get an edge on magically talented foes. He pushed to better himself for him and for others.

He made many allies and he also made friends. On one mission he came across an abandoned baby fire dragon, she was red with an orange underbelly. He ended up taking care of her and she began to learn from him everything. He named her Sarah.  
He also made friends with another guild solder, a white Pegasus named Lillie. He only out ranked her by one level. She was the complete opposite of Maverick because she was always easygoing and calm. She could always calm Maverick when he was too intense with his studies and training. They had a close relationship.

Maverick's success would continue for years and the fort where The Guild held its headquarters had become his new home. Demos would receive the rank of General and take the place as the head Guild master.


	3. Chapter 3

The Vanguard  
Chapter 3

(One hour after sunrise, the day after the kidnapping of Princess Celestia.)

Twilight was rummaging through her library and was throwing around books, scrolls and other objects of her possession. Spike could only watch in dismay. It had been a few hours since he had received a letter from Princess Luna informing Twilight about the abduction of her teacher.

Twilight:" Spike! What are you doing standing around, I need you to get those spell books for me! We don't have time!"

Spike:" Twilight, what about Princess Luna's orders to stay here?"

Twilight:" Do you honestly think I'm going to stay here and do nothing? What do you think could be happening to the Princess?"

Spike:" I know, but aren't the royal Guards looking for her? I don't think it's a good idea to go out …"

Twilight snapped around to look spike in the eyes. She was on the verge of rage and tears were flowing down her face.

Twilight:" So I'm supposed to just sit here and let the guards look for her? They can't even do their job protecting her! I'm going to look for her and that's final! If you want to stay here and do nothing then fine! Maybe I don't need you're help!"

Spike glanced down with a frown and tears started rolling down his face too. He stood silent for a moment and then grabbed some books off a shelf. He stuck them in Twilights saddle bag and closed the straps.

Spike: "If you want to go out and get hurt too… then that's up to you. I just didn't want to lose you either, but it looks like you don't care about that."

After Spike said this, there was a moment of silence between them. Then he walked into another room to start cleaning up the place.

Twilight Stood there letting what Spike said sink in. Twilight thought to herself, "Oh Spike, I'm sorry! Maybe you are right, maybe I shouldn't go; but I can't sit here and do nothing. If I don't look for her…"

Twilight couldn't finish her thoughts when there was a knock at the door, soon after spike came in yelling for her.

Spike:" Twilight! Twilight!"

Twilight:" What is it spike?"

Spike:" Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are back, they said that they found somepony in the ever free forest and that they need you at the hospital!"

Twilight:" Who?"

Spike:" some stallion unicorn, he's badly hurt! They said he might know something about The Princess"

Twilight:" Ok, ok! Let's get going then!"

Twilight and spike raced over to the town clinic. When they got there, every pony in the town was gathered in and around. Twilight had to push through the crowd to get close. Rainbow dash was flying over the crowd outside looking for twilight. It wasn't too long before she spotted her.

Rainbow Dash:" Twi! Get in here; you have to check this guy out!"

Twilight:" Ok just let me through every one!"

Twilight made it into the room that this new unicorn was in. The grey and green stallion was laid out in a bed with IV and an oxygen mask. The Doctor was still trying to stabilize his new patient. Maverick was out of his armor and cloak which was piled in the corner of the room and it was still covered in blood and mud. Twilight looked at the still unconscious unicorn and noticed he had something extra; a pair of wings. "…an Alicorn?" Twilight thought to herself.

Twilight picked up Maverick's garments and armor with her magic and began to inspect them. There was an emblem on the breast plate. She recognized it as The Guilds emblem. There was also a strange amulet.

In Princess Luna's letter, she had mentioned that the suspicions for the kidnapping had been given to "the Guild." One of the guards had reported that he was thrown off the train that Princess Celestia was aboard by a Pegasus with a dark cloak.

Twilight dropped the garments and trotted out of the room. She trotted up to Fluttershy who was just outside the room.

Twilight:" Where did you find him?"

Fluttershy :" Oh The Poor stallion crashed into a stream in the ever free forest."

Twilight: " did you see where he came from before that."

Fluttershy : " No, but I did see a flash up in the sky."

Twilight: "Was there any pony else in the sky?"

Fluttershy : " No. "

Rainbow dash had made her way into the hallway.

Rainbow Dash:" So who is this guy twilight?"

Twilight: "I don't know, But I do know he's part of the guild."

Rainbow Dash:" "The Guild?"

Twilight: " yes, it's a mercenary organization that takes contracts from all around ponydom. Princess lunas letter to me states that they are responsible for Princess Celestias Kidnapping. "

Rainbow Dash: " oh great we saved this guy."

Twilight: "Actually that might be a good thing Rainbow Dash. He's one of them and if The Guild did kidnap the Princess, he might be able to tell us where they took her. I wonder what happened to him"

Rainbow Dash: "What if he doesn't want to talk when he wakes up?"  
Twilight gave a Rainbowdash a frown,

Twilight: "We'll make him talk!"

Rainbow dash and Fluttershy both looked at Twilight with looks of shock. Twilight didn't seem all right at all. She had a determination that worried both of them.  
Twilight walked into the room with the doctor who finally had the " alicorn" stable.

TWilight: "Doctor, how is he doing?"

Doc: "He's stable now, but his condition is tentative. We'll have to keep him here for about a week."  
Twilight: "When will he be awake?"

Doc: "I don't know, He's lost a lot of blood, and has many lacerations and a couple of broken bones. I wouldn't count on him being awake let alone walking around any time soon."

Twilight: "Thank you doctor."

Twilight went back into the hall way. She was frustrated at the fact that the Stallion wasn't going to be of much use to her on the account that he was unconscious. She paced back and forth for about an hour trying to figure out what to do. She thought to herself, " if only I can wake him up…." Then Twilight had an idea. Earlier that year she had learned a memory spell that would allow her to go through the memories of any pony. "That's right! I don't need him to be awake, I can just look through what he remembers from last night! Twilight you are a genius!"

Twilight was about to walk back in to the room when she saw out of the corner of her eye spike spitting out a scroll. "What could it be this time?" Twilight thought to herself.

Twilight grabbed it off the ground and levitated it up to her face as she unrolled it. It Read,

"My dear student Twilight Sparkle,  
I'm happy to let you know that I'm safe and that I am back in my palace. I couldn't be happier to be writing to you again, yet this ordeal isn't over; not for some of us that is. I have a task for you and your friends. As you already know, I was kidnaped by the organization known as "The Guild." They had intended for me to be killed and they would have been successful if it had not been for one Pegasus who despite his loyalty to The Guild, liberated me from them. During our escape we teleported over the ever free forest, unfortunately he was too injured to see my rescue through all the way to canterlot. I need you to search the Ever Free Forest for him, for he truly is the one who saved my life. Please bring him to Ponyville. He is Grey with a green mane and tail, he's also wearing a black cloak and armor. I will arrive in Ponyvill as soon as I can.  
Your faithful teacher  
Princess Celestia."

Spike: "Twilight, what is it? Anything new about the search?"  
Twilight held the letter to her face still reading it over just to make sure what she read was true.

Spike: "Well?"

Twilight: "It's a letter….from the …..Princess….Princess Celestia!"

Twilight said it loud enough for everyone to hear in the hallway. Ponies were repeating her words, most of them in disbelief. Every pony was shocked to hear that their Princess had returned, but then there were cheers and sobs alike.

There was a lot of commotion outside and twilight was fighting back tears as her friends were gathering around her. Twilight then told everyone about the letter and what they were expected to do.

Pinkey Pie: "So He's the stallion we need to find right? Okie dokie…. Mission accomplished."

Apple Jack: " I recon he's the one, but maybe we should double check to make sure."

Rareity: "His cloths look so dreadful! I wonder what he went through to get so ruffed up."

Fluttershy: "The poor guy, , he was probably too tired and he crash landed through the trees?"

Rainbow Dash: "Sorry Fluttershy, I don't think branches gave him those cuts. "

Twilight: "I don't know if it is him, Princess Celestia called him a Pegasus, but he's an alicorn. Whatever the case is, If he's the one we need to find, then we better let the princess know…. Spike please take a note."

Spike: "You got it!"

Spike was smiling, he was glad twilight didn't have to do anything dangerous.  
Before twilight could start off the letter, a flashed appeared next to her and soon out of the flash of light appeared Princess Luna.

Twilight: "( gasp) Princess Luna? What are you doing here?"

Princess Luna: "Twilight Sparkle, Thank goodness you are still here! We were afraid you had already left"

Twilight: "How is she? Is she hurt?"

Princess Luna: "Not too badly, She is very tired though."

Twilight: "Princess Celestia asked us to find someone out in the ever free forest, I think we already have him."

Luna: " Let me see him!"

Twilight lead Princess Luna into the room where the unconscious Maverick was laid. Twilight trotted in and moved to the wall on the right as Luna trotted up to the foot of the bed. The Doctor was using his hoof to check Mavericks pulse in his left hoof and was looking at his watch. After he was done, the doctor then stepped to the side and bowed his head to Luna.

Luna: "Doctor, these wounds, what do you think made these?"

Doc: "Your highness, There's a whole story to be told with all the injuries this young stallion has endured. The young mare that brought him in said he had crashed into a stream in the Ever free forest; which would explain his state of hypothermia and his broken femur, but he has many lacerations around his face, legs and his wings. I suspect he was cut with some sort of blade. I also suspect that he has suffered from smoke inhalation due to his labored wheezing and also because his mane and tale have scorch marks. To be frank, not too many ponies, even his age, would be able to suffer what he has and survive."

Luna was shocked at the injuries she had missed, usually she was very observant. Maybe she was starting to feel fatigue from raising the sun.

Twilight was starting to feel bad for this stranger. Until this point, she was only concerned for Princess Celestia, Little did she notice Mavericks pain, if he could still feel anything. She thought to herself, "What happened to you? Did you really save the princess: what did you do to get so hurt?"

Luna: " We'll stay here for the day Doctor. He is asleep, correct?"

Doc: " um.. yes your highness. We will have the nurses bring in another bead for you."

Luna: " Thank you Doctor but that Will not be necessary. We will be awake."

Doc: "Well if you need anything just let one of my nurses know."

Luna: "Thank you Doctor."

Luna trotted to the opposite side of the bed from where the Doctor was; she knelt down and lay on the ground next to Maverick.

Luna: "Twilight sparkle, my sister will be arriving soon. Will you welcome her please?"

Twilight: "Yes Princess, I will. "

Twilight took one last look at Maverick before she trotted out of the room. Princess Luna started focusing and her horn began to glow. Twilight wondered what she was doing. Twilight then went to the lobby of the clinic where Spike and the others were waiting. She had spike send a letter to Princess Celestia notifying her about their premature success in finding Maverick. She was saving most of her emotions for when the princess arrived. From there Every pony worked to make preparations for the arrival of Princess Celestia.


End file.
